Inside the Collection

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A museum display of an open steam engine made up of a large fly wheel attached by gears to a piston and steam cylinder.

James Watt’s Bicentenary: the man and his machines

August 21, 2019

Sarah Reeves
25 August marks the 200th anniversary of the death of inventor James Watt. To mark the occasion, we have invited a guest post by Debbie Rudder, an expert on Watt, to explore his life and scientific contributions.

Architectural models from the collection

August 14, 2019

Keinton Butler
The Powerhouse Museum collection contains material relating to architecture and the built environment, of local, national and international significance. The collection includes scale models, design archives, plans, drawings, photography and interior fittings, with projects ranging from iconic buildings by award winning, internationally recognised Australian architects Glenn Murcutt, Harry Seidler and John Andrews, to social housing and civic projects of public interest. Architectural models form an important part of the architecture and built environment collection, and the Museum has many fine examples of conceptual, working, and large-scale presentation models that illustrate this craft.
Writing set in red metal with black detail, comprising a blotter, pen tray and circular inkstand with a black-ball handle on the cover.

100 years of the Bauhaus

August 1, 2019

Eva Czernis-Ryl
The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences has just opened a display with striking objects, photographs and archival material from its extensive decorative art and design collections, to celebrate the centenary of the Bauhaus, the most influential 20th century school of design.
A mannequin wearing a space suit stands on a silver circular plinth. To the left is a title wall reading 'Apollo 11' with diagrams of spacecraft around it.

Curating the Apollo 11 exhibition

July 19, 2019

Sarah Reeves
Last month the Museum opened a new exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. As the curator, I’ve spent the past 12-18 months developing this exhibition, which explores the events of 1969, and celebrates what is possibly the greatest scientific achievement of all time.
A woman with glasses and curly hair sits at an office desk.

Meet the Registrar: Karen Biddle

July 10, 2019

Sarah Reeves
Name: Karen Biddle Role: Registrar / Collection Database Administrator What is the main focus of your role at MAAS? My main focus is the MAAS collection database (called 'EMu'), for which I manage user group permissions, report design, QA work, large data queries and exports, periodic statistics, and providing training/support to users for everyday usage queries.
Coloured map drawn from above showing wharves and buildings.

Pyrmont and Ultimo: an industrial past

June 25, 2019

Anni Turnbull
Like many suburbs of Sydney, Pyrmont and Ultimo have undergone significant changes during the last two hundred years. It’s hard to imagine the current peninsula filled with the sounds of quarrying, smoke from iron works and power stations and sweet smells from Colonial Sugar Refinery (CSR).

Student Fashion 2019

June 19, 2019

Kristina Stankovski
Held annually at the Powerhouse Museum since 1993, the Student Fashion display showcases the work of Sydney’s top local fashion design graduates, providing insight into the skills and potential of the next generation of Australian designers.
A pair of coloured glass forms standing upright against a black background. The form on the left is slightly larger and is decorated with vertical bands of in green, blue and yellow. The smaller piece ion the right shows bands in dusty pink, grey and green hues.

The Barry Willoughby Bequest: two new acquisitions

June 12, 2019

Eva Czernis-Ryl
Last year, we introduced to our readers the first glass and ceramic objects acquired for the MAAS collection with funds from the remarkably generous Barry Willoughby Bequest. We are delighted to share the news about two more recent acquisitions enabled by Willoughby’s passion for Australian studio glass and ceramics as expressed in his will.

The Climate Protests of 2019 – Were you there?

June 5, 2019

Keinton Butler
In March 2019, one of the largest global environmental protests took place, with at least 1.6 million people coming together in over 125 countries to protest inaction on climate change. The Global Climate Strike was inspired by 16-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg, who started an international movement after sitting outside Swedish parliament in August 2018 with a hand-painted banner that read ‘Skolstrejk för klimatet’ (‘School strike for the climate’).
young indigenous man holding woven basket with older indigenous man sitting in the background, both men are out of focus

“Mara gunda-l” – to make with the hand

May 30, 2019

Nina Earl
Guest post by Bernard Singleton, Curator Bernard Singleton is a curator and craftsman from the Cape York region of Australia. He has worked with UMI Arts, Cairns Art Gallery and the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.
Phonograph with wooden display box, which has an internal metal horn and fixed playing mechanism on the centre top. The wooden display box has a hinged lid which can be propped open.

Jukebox Jewkbox! A Century on Shellac and Vinyl: a crossover of collections (Part 1 of 2)

May 21, 2019

Damian McDonald
I recently had the privilege of seeing the exhibition Jukebox Jewkbox! A Century on Shellac and Vinyl at the Sydney Jewish Museum in Darlinghurst. The exhibition explores the phenomenon of mass-produced music, performance and comedy on the mediums of shellac and vinyl, and the enormous part Jewish people have played, and continue to play in the industry.